Hey y'all. I picked up a used tC recently, and one of the first things I want to do is install a new stereo. I have read what threads I can find, but I have a few basic questions.

I have read the stock speakers are 6.5" front and 5.25" rear, but 6.5" can fit all around with a bit of modification. First, are the stock speakers held in by three screws? That's the way they were held in when I had my Miata. Also, instead of making adapters, has anyone tried drilling the door panels and installing these?

This is what I did with my last car.
To fit the 6.5" speakers in the rear, do they need to be spaced with baffles, or is it just a matter of adapting the size?

Second, the tweeters are a 1" tweeter behind the door handle. Is replacement of this simple enough to warrant buying component front speakers?

Third, is there any special craziness to removing the panels where the rear speakers are located?

Lastly, has anyone been able to switch the stock head unit for another and keep steering wheel audio controls?

Thanks!

 

you can get adapters to still use the stock steeringwheel controls off crutchfield.com. also, i tihink the speakers are held in with rivets and you would need to use baffles to install new ones. that's what i've read from some posts on here. the rear panels aren't that hard to remove. should be a couple screws/bolts holding it in and then some plastic tabs. i think you could use that thing you pictured to screw in the speakers but im not too sure on it..

go to the DIY section and there you'll find some posts on switching out the speakers and how to remove the rear panels..

 

edit: just looked in the tech DIY section and there's no speaker installation DIY. i did find this for you though:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/tc-tech-diy-1818/steering-wheel-controls-w-aftermarket-hu-44542/

sterring wheel controls with aftermarket sterio..

 

Thanks. I've figured out what deck I'm going for, which is steering control compatible. I'll just have to see when I get the door panel off whether or not I can get away with the nylon snap in screw grommets and some drilling. Pictures of the stock speakers look JUST LIKE the ones in my old Miata.

 

well front pannel is holeded y 3 screws. it aint hard to find. because one is hiddne behind the little flap on where is your door handle is. other two is you know that l shape handle with crom ring on your door. look carefully at it. its not one piece. there are two more behind. rear pannel dont have screw. make sure remove the bottom part of rear seat. put screw driver under it just pop it up. look at the rear pannel on the bottom part. you c handle looking thing it. turn it and pop it out. than just go around it gently pull it toward you. and done.

 

Some of this was already mentioned, but hopefully it's easier to read this way.

The front speakers are held in by 3 rivets, and the rear speakers are held in by 3 screws. Haven't tried those things, I used premade adapters and drilled holes where i needed them.

That would probably depend on the depth of your speakers, but the ones I used fit fine with a relatively thin adapter.

It's not particularly difficult to do if you want component speakers, but I didn't bother.

What do you consider crazy? You need to remove the bench part of the rear seats and the cargo hooks, the rest is very straightforward.

You can use one of the adapters from this company, make sure you buy the proper one for the brand of head unit you're installing:

http://www.pac-audio.com/SWI/

 

Great info! As it turns out, the head unit I am looking at supports steering wheel controls right out of the box. It looks like I'll just go with two-way speakers all around, because the components I like have a ridiculously high RMS power requirement, and I'm really not looking to install a four channel amp. I just want a decent set of speakers and a decent deck for music. This means, I'll just end up not using the stock tweeters at all if I'm going to run the speakers at 4 ohm.

One more important question. For a single DIN install, do you recommend finding a kit? Would the install procedure found on the forum be better?